Saturday, May 21, 2005
Rainsville City Park

Billie Crumly

Sand Mountain's favorite gardener, quilter and teller of old tales, Bille Crumly will reminisce about the old days and old ways of rural life. This writer and storyteller has written the local newspaper column "Country Living" since the late 1980's, and recently published the book "the Best of Country Living I," a collection of stories.

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Billie Crumly was born in the front bedroom of the home she and husband John live in today. At ever turn there is some relic, a table or a quilt or a picture; items that would be worthless to others but that hold a special family memory for the couple. And every item shakes loose a story.

Not that one has to pry hard to loosen the lid on Billie Crumly's treasure box of tales. Storytelling - in the word's truest sense - is woven into the very fabric of her life like fine thread through a patchwork quilt top. It's not just something she does, it's an important part of who she is.

Spinning yarns of days gone by, of life the way it was once lived out in the rural South, has long been a love of Crumly's. But her passion for oral tradition took a new direction in 1988 when Coolidge Isbell invited her to write a regular column for his newspaper, The Tri-City Times.

"Country Living" was born, a weekly visit in the garden or on the front porch or in the kitchen of Crumly's circa 1800's homeplace, which she has affectionately dubbed The Windy Knoll. Each week, readers were led through a potpourri of homespun anecdotes, touching on everything from quilting and cooking to farm chores and family.

Sixteen years later, Crumly has developed a wide readership. The column continues to appear weekly, in the pages of The Weekly Post (which bought The Tri-City Times in the early 1990's).

It was from her loyal reader based that the idea came to publish a book, a collection of "Country Living" articles from the column's earlier days. The result is the new self-published volume The Best of Country Living I.

Readers picking up a copy of Crumly's book are treated to stories such as "The Cows are Out," "Airing Quilts," The Sears Roebuck Catalog," and "Mattresses of Old."

The uninitiated may be tempted to dismiss Crumly's essays as so much hillbilly banter. But there is much more to her writing than mere cornpone philosophy and folksy ramblings.

In writing about the real life experiences of bygone days, Crumly transports her readers to a time and place that are memories only to a dwindling segment of the population. In so doing, she is creating a body of work that preserves the culture and traditions of a generation upon which our modern society is built.

The Best of Country Living I has been well received. Local sales have been steady, and Crumly has shipped numerous copies out of the area. Several have become repeat customers, like the lady from Florida who after ordering three books wrote back to order seven more as gifts for friends and relatives.

Sold mostly by mail order, Crumly's book is being read in at least ten different states.

"Billie Crumly writes with the authority of one who knows her subject well," says fiber artist and lecturer Bets Ramsey in her review of Country Living. Jay Lamar of Auburn University agrees when he says Crumly "has warmth that makes reading her essays like a visit with an old friend." He calls Country Living "good for the heart."

Crumly writes her weekly column surrounded by inspiration. Stepping onto the Geraldine farm is like walking back in time, entering a place where life was simpler, slower, steadier. A visit may provide you with a tour of Crumly's plant wonderland, where thrives an abundance of trillium, hosta, and native plants too numerous to name.

Or perhaps you'll see the car shed built by Crumly's father, or the barn where the Crumly's lived after moving back to Sand Mountain in 1985, waiting on the renovation project that made the 1800's homeplace livable again.

Inside, you'll be sure to get an earful of the way things used to be, as the couple shares stories of the past tied to family heirlooms as diverse as a table made by John's grandfather and the tatting shuttle used by Billie's grandmother.

The Best of Country Living I is not just a fun read; it is also an excellent resource on Sand Mountain culture that should be on every bookshelf in the region.

To purchase the book, visit The Weekly Post, or send a check or money order for $12.99 (plus 65¢ state tax) to Billie Crumly, PO Box 281, Geraldine, AL, 35974. Please add $3.50 shipping.